SMALL FRUIT UPDATE | WEEK 40 | SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

Liberty bud development. September 22, 2022. Willamette Valley, OR. Photo by Julie Pond.

WHAT'S INSIDE Julie Pond

NORTHWEST BERRY FOUNDATION
INDUSTRY RESOURCES

GROWER RESOURCES
Here we are at the tail end of the 2022 season. A well deserved pat on the pack
INDUSTRY NEWS
to the growers. There aren’t many people in this world that will gamble on the
weather to make a living. It’s a herculean effort to get everything done on a
PEST MANAGEMENT schedule only the plants can make for you. You and your crews make the world
go round each day.
SFU SPONSORS

Here’s to the researchers and technicians working to solve production

problems and increase efficiency. Here’s to the industry that supplies tools to
get the fruit out of the field and into the hands of people that enjoy it. Here’s to
the processors and marketing teams who are constantly hustling to keep the
fruit appealing and safe all the way to the final buyer. To those who contribute
to this newsletter, especially the regional reports, I appreciate your
perspectives and so do our readers. To those who I’m forgetting - here’s to you
too!

All these people work a tireless schedule. Spend some time at meetings this
Subscribe Here off season to connect and introduce yourselves to people you don’t recognize.
They likely have helped you in some way without you knowing it.
Small Fruit Update is
produced once a week We’re starting our biweekly schedule of the Small Fruit Update. If you have
during the growing
ways we can improve, I’d be open to hearing them. Contact us.
season and bimonthly
outside the growing
season (Oct - Feb)

NWBERRYFOUNDATION.ORG PAGE 01
 Grower Resources

REGIONAL FIELD REPORTS

Oregon, Willamette Valley (9/22) From Julie Pond, Peerbolt Crop Management, Portland, OR
Blueberries: I was out looking at some blueberry buds and making some preliminary counts. I'm thinking bud development
is average at this point. Labor is an issue as apples and wreath making take a front seat. Remaining blueberries are small
sized and the quality is about the same.

Day Neutral Strawberries: Day Neutral strawberries are just coming into their stride. It was 42f here this morning but water
is still going strong with little rainfall in sight.

Northern Washington, Whatcom & Skagit Counties (9/23) From Lisa Wasko Devetter, Small Fruit
Horticulturist, WSU NWREC, Mount Vernon:
The field season is wrapping up in northwest Washington. We have a few final picks in late-season blueberry. Primocane
raspberry and day-neutral strawberry still continue to produce, but fruit size and quality has been declining. I'm seeing lots
of lygus in strawberry the past week, but otherwise the quality (i.e., flavor) has been nice. Bud set looks average as well.

This has been another "wild" field season, but I'm looking forward to analyzing data from our many projects and sharing
results in the coming months with the industry!

British Columbia, Fraser Valley (9/26) From Chuck Mouritzen, Southwest Crop Consulting, Chilliwack,
BC
Blueberries: This week will probably end picking for most growers still active. Some Elliot and Aurora still making their
way to the packers. But volumes are quite low. Most of the focus is now on fall fertilization and weed and disease control
as well as preparations for new plantings. The biggest issue out there is now this incredible dry spell and heat we have
been going through. Irrigation is ongoing and even with that there are a number of blueberry fields that look a bit ragged.
I'm not quite sure what impact this late summer and early fall weather will end up having on the 2023 crop. But I think
there has to be some effect. This has been a challenging season going back to the heat dome of 2021, the incredible rain
and flood event of November 2021, the cold, wet spring and early summer of 2022 and the unprecedented level of impact
this season due to latent virus infection. All this has contributed to what we ended up with this season - which to many
blueberry growers (but not all) was a disappointment. I think there will be considerable evaluation of what business
decisions need to be made by a lot of BC growers going forward. Hopefully we get back to some sort of normalcy with the
weather. That we can't control.

PEST ALERT: SWD

Spotted Wing Drosophila larvae are being found in blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries. This is a high
SWD population season. The heat didn’t have a great knock down effect on populations as we’d hoped so it’s
important to keep in mind what your market can bear with regards to SWD pressure. Be prepared to:

Monitor fruit often for SWD larvae using the fruit dunk method.
Understand that trapping for adult SWD while fruit is ripening isn’t as effective as trapping before ripening
due to competition with attractive fruit.
Consider appropriate management for your markets, refer to berry pesticide options and MRLs as needed.

NWBERRYFOUNDATION.ORG PAGE 02
 Industry News

Brought to you by
Our Team is here to guide you through your every need from crop and planting to soil
balance or harvest and winterization

PODCASTS OF THE INDUSTRY

PolliNation: A podcast from Oregon State University Extension Service hosted by Dr. Andony
Melathopoulos.
222 - DANIELSEN - POLLINATOR HABITAT ON WATER PIPELINES?

NEWSLETTERS OF THE INDUSTRY

Behind The Blue: August Nielsen Report, USDA Climate-Smart Projects, National Pancake Day

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS:

WRRC has been released with a December 12, 2022 deadline READ MORE

Albion crop stage. September 22, 2022. Willamette Valley, OR. Photo by Julie Pond.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Washington State Commission on Pesticide Registration 2023 Request for Proposals: Proposals are due November 18,
2022, and presented at a WSCPR meeting on December 14-15, 2022 in Ellensburg, WA. Questions? Contact Alicia Adler.

NWBERRYFOUNDATION.ORG PAGE 03
FEATURED LINKS
Rains may negatively impact this year's Californian tomato and future strawberry harvest (FreshPlaza 9/22)

Central Oregon producers pivot toward new farming methods as drought persists (Capital Press 9/26)

Millions proposed to fight fruit fly that threatens Michigan berries (FreshPlaza 9/27)

Ag Innovations Conference focuses on sustainability (Capital Press 9/23)

Data gaps may hinder Oregon irrigation wells (Capital Press 9/23)

NORTH AMERICA
US (KY): AppHarvest announces fall planting progress for strawberries
READ MORE
(FreshPlaza 9/21)

Michigan blueberry delegation thanks Stabenow

READ MORE
(Fruit Grower News 9/23)

Three judge appeals panel rules in favor of USDA certification of organic hydroponic producers
READ MORE
(FreshPlaza 9/23)

Raspberry, blackberry conference returns to in-person event

READ MORE
(Fruit Grower News 9/26)

US retailers waste no time in steering shoppers towards fall favorites

READ MORE
(FreshPlaza 9/26)

British Columbia's 2022 cranberry harvest is underway

READ MORE
(FreshPlaza 9/27)

"This year, the Florida Pearl premium strawberry will reach the markets in Europe and the Gulf region"
READ MORE
(FreshPlaza 9/27)

Rains may negatively impact this year's Californian tomato and future strawberry harvest
READ MORE
(FreshPlaza 9/22)

TECHNOLOGY
Game Changers: Strawberry Clamshells
READ MORE
(Produce Blue Book 9/23)

Australian Strawberry varieties might become more well-known, like apples

READ MORE
(FreshPlaza 9/23)

"Increasing adoption of ag robots as more growers 'get it'"

READ MORE
(FreshPlaza 9/27)

Quest to tailor strawberry taste

READ MORE
(Fruitnet 9/27)

NWBERRYFOUNDATION.ORG PAGE 04
Technology has become the foundation of blueberry cultivation
READ MORE
(Hortidaily 9/27)

WORLD MARKETS

Imports of Peruvian blueberries through Philadelphia and NYC expected to increase

READ MORE
(FreshPlaza 9/26)

The international demand for Peruvian fruits and vegetables is increasing

READ MORE
(Fresh Plaza 9/26)

"Higher costs will mean few, if any, local strawberries in the winter"
READ MORE
(FreshPlaza 9/26)

Mexican Strawberries face tighter supplies

READ MORE
(Fresh Fruit Portal 9/27)

Gaza begins planting strawberries

READ MORE
(Middle East Monitor 9/27)

“We are in the process of diversifying the origins of our berries”

READ MORE
(FreshPlaza 9/27)

Ecuador cultivates a taste for blueberries

READ MORE
(Fruitnet 9/27)

"In these tough times, the strawberry sector must find solutions"
READ MORE
(FreshPlaza 9/27)

FOOD SAFETY

Frozen berries Hepatitis A scare might boost local fresh berry sales
READ MORE
(FreshPlaza 9/22)

Blackberry primocanes vs floricanes. September 22, 2022. Willamette Valley, OR. Photo by Julie Pond

NWBERRYFOUNDATION.ORG PAGE 05
All Crops
Monitor for Spotted Wing Drosophila

Blueberries
Monitor for rot symptoms: Green Berry Botrytis and Anthracnose favor cool, wet weather patterns.
Scout for Mummy Berry blueberries for future season management. No management is effective for the
remainder of this season.
Continue monitoring and management of aphids where scorch virus transmission is an issue.
Azalea Bark Scale. This scale's telltale bright white egg sacs on the lower branches of infested plants
should be close to spreading now.
Leaf and soil nutrient sampling.

Blackberries
Scout for Rose Stem Girdler ‘galls’ on primocanes.
Prune out floricanes and train up Primocanes.
Soil nutrient sample post harvest fields.

Raspberries
Scout for mites: Two Spotted mites
Prune out floricanes and train up Primocanes.
Nutrient sample near post harvest.

Strawberries
June bearing: Complete field renovations.
Day Neutral: Scout fruit symptoms of Powdery Mildew.
Day Neutral: Monitor bloom/plants for Lygus Bug and monkey faced berries.
Day Neutral: Thrips monitoring on bloom.
Day Neutral: Two-spotted Spider mite monitoring.

NWBERRYFOUNDATION.ORG PAGE 06
 Small Fruit
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NWBERRYFOUNDATION.ORG PAGE 07
 Industry Calendar

OCTOBER 2022
Oregon Strawberry Commission Meeting 4-5pm
4
VIEW AGENDA. MCMENAMINS HOTEL OREGON, 310 N.E. EVANS STREET, MCMINNVILLE, OR, 97128. OR SEE ZOOM LINK

5-7 The Blueberry Summit

REGISTER HERE

Washington Blueberry Commission Annual Research Review

14
WSU MT VERNON RESEARCH AND EXTENSION CENTER WITH HYBRID OPTION.

WRRC Research Review with Virtual Option

17
VIEW AGENDA

WRRC Research Review with Virtual Option

19
VIEW AGENDA

BC Berries Research Review 9am

21
SAVE THE DATE

24 ORBC Meeting
DETAILS TBA.

Washington Red Raspberry Commission Meeting 1pm

26
LYNDEN, WA. FOR ZOOM IN OPTIONS, EMAIL HENRY BEIRLINK.

Washington Blueberry Commission Meeting. Yakima location TBA

26 DETAILS TBA, ZOOM DETAILS TBA. FOR MORE INFORMATION EMAIL ALAN SCHREIBER.

UPCOMING EVENTS

We are only displaying the calendar one month at a time to improve your viewing
experience and keep the SFU at a reasonable page count. Future months calendar
information can be found on our website.

VIEW UPCOMING EVENTS

NWBERRYFOUNDATION.ORG PAGE 08
 THE SMALL FRUIT UPDATE
WEEK 40 | SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

The Small Fruit Update is published by the Northwest Berry Foundation, a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit. Our mission is to support
the northwest small fruit industry through education, research and information access. The SFU is made possible through the
generosity of our sponsors and readers like you. Donate today, and together we can help our berry growing community thrive.

Thank you for your support!

DONATE NOW

Abby Gearing,
This is the sole industry publication, SFU Designer & Editor
gathering grower and producer news, and abby@nwberries.org
regional field reports to unite, stabilize, and
strengthen the Northwest berry growing Elisa Ford,
NBF Co-Director
region (Canada and US).
elisa@nwberries.org

Production is independent of government

Julie Pond,
and commercial control and made possible NBF Co-Director & Editor
by the following commission & councils. julie@peerbolt.com

For more information or requests please Tom Peerbolt,

contact: info@nwberries.org Director At-Large, Chief Editor Emeritus
tom@peerbolt.com.